Promenade, Petrotrin in tennis clash

Promenade Tennis Club will take on Petrotrin Penal in the Tennis Association of Trinidad and Tobago (TATT) South Zone Inter-Club “B” Division semi-final encounter, tomorrow at the Promenade Tennis court from 4.30 pm.

There will also be keen competition in the other semi-final, which will be staged at the Skinner Park courts tomorrow. Home-based team San Fernando Tennis Club clash with Petrotrin Staff Club. Former national singles champion and Davis Cup player Brian Khan and former national doubles champion Jonathan Charles will spearhead the Petrotrin Staff Club in their quest for a place in the final. But they will not have an easy passage and will be sternly tested by Curtis Hinds, Darryl Yarde, Anthony Cook and Peter Moore. The Promenade “B” Team showed remarkable improvement when they edged out the experienced Petrotrin Staff Club by a 3-2 margin to get into the “semis.” The biggest upset was recorded by the Jarred Phillip and Peter Hosein tandem, which surprisingly got the better of father/son combination of Harris Khan and Brian Khan by a 6-2 margin. The Khans were also on the losing side again when Ian Henry and Clifton Whitehead registered a similar scoreline. Ramesh Ramdhan clinched the tie for the Promenade outfit when Colin Piper defaulted with their match tied at 1-1. Piper was unable to continue because of injury.

The “Oil Boys” were saved by the Charles brothers —- Jonathan and Jeremy (overseas-based) who together got the better of Ian Henry and Clifton Whitehead at 6-4 and Jarred Phillip and Peter Hosein, also at a 6-4 scoreline. The star-studded Promenade Tennis Club “A” team clinched the “A” Division title by virtue of a walkover from the San Fernando Tennis Club. Former national Under-18 champion and 2003 Davis Cup player Dexter Mahase, former Davis Cup player Randy Hakim, Ravi Deonarine (Davis Cup team member), south’s perennial clay court champion Harry Mahase, current national veteran champion Dipnarine Rampersad and Selwyn Hakim comprised the powerful Promenade TC “A” team which scared away their opponents and gave them an easy passage to the national play-offs. Meanwhile, the Division “C” semi-finals will be contested today from 4.30 pm. San Fernando Tennis Club will host Petrotrin P-a-P at Skinner Park while Petrotrin Penal will do likewise in their clash with the Point Fortin Civic Centre team at Penal.